(1 of )FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2013, file photo, an employee of North Raleigh Guns demonstrates how a "bump" stock works at the Raleigh, N.C., shop. The gunman who unleashed hundreds of rounds of gunfire on a crowd of concertgoers in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, attached what is called a "bump-stock" to two of his weapons, in effect converting semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic ones. (AP Photo/Allen Breed, File)

(2 of )A little-known device called a "bump stock" is attached to a semi-automatic rifle at the Gun Vault store and shooting range Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, in South Jordan, Utah. Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock bought 33 guns within the last year, but that didn't raise any red flags. Neither did the mountains of ammunition he was stockpiling, or the bump stocks found in his hotel room that allow semi-automatic rifles to mimic fully automatic weapons. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

(3 of )Clark Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Shooting Sports Council, attaches a little-known device called a "bump stock" to a semi-automatic rifle at the Gun Vault store and shooting range Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, in South Jordan, Utah. Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock bought 33 guns within the last year, but that didn't raise any red flags. Neither did the mountains of ammunition he was stockpiling, or the bump stocks found in his hotel room that allow semi-automatic rifles to mimic fully automatic weapons. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

(4 of )FILE - This Feb. 1, 2013, file photo shows a "bump" stock next to a disassembled .22-caliber rifle at North Raleigh Guns in Raleigh, N.C. The gunman who unleashed hundreds of rounds of gunfire on a crowd of concertgoers in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, attached what is called a "bump-stock" to two of his weapons, in effect converting semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic ones. (AP Photo/Allen Breed, File)

(5 of )FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2013, file photo, an employee of North Raleigh Guns demonstrates how a "bump" stock works at the Raleigh, N.C., shop. The gunman who unleashed hundreds of rounds of gunfire on a crowd of concertgoers in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, attached what is called a "bump-stock" to two of his weapons, in effect converting semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic ones. (AP Photo/Allen Breed, File)

(6 of ) People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gunfire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

(7 of ) A wounded person is walked in on a wheelbarrow as Las Vegas police respond during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Stirp in Las Vegas Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

(8 of ) Police officers advise people to take cover near the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(10 of ) People assist a wounded woman at the Tropicana during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Stirp in Las Vegas Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

(11 of ) Medics treat the wounded as Las Vegas police respond during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Stirp in Las Vegas Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

(12 of ) Police officers stand at the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(13 of ) Police officers and medical personnel stand at the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(14 of ) A police officer takes cover behind a truck at the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(15 of ) Police run to cover at the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(16 of ) A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(17 of ) People wait as the Tropicana Las Vegas goes on lockdown during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

(18 of ) People are searched by Las Vegas police at the Tropicana Las Vegas during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

(19 of ) A wounded woman is moved outside the Tropicana during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

(20 of ) A man waits during lockdown at the Tropicana Las Vegas during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Strip Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

(21 of ) In this Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017 frame from video, people leave the scene of a deadly shooting in Las Vegas. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (Shawn Kilgore via AP)

(22 of ) Drapes billow out of broken windows at the Mandalay Bay resort and casino Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, on the Las Vegas Strip following a deadly shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas. A gunman was found dead inside a hotel room. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(23 of ) Drapes billow out of broken windows at the Mandalay Bay resort and casino Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, on the Las Vegas Strip following a deadly shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas. A gunman was found dead inside a hotel room. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(24 of ) Las Vegas police sweep through a convention center area during a lockdown Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, at the Tropicana Las Vegas following an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Strip. Multiple victims were transported to hospitals after a deadly shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

(25 of ) The main stage at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival sits in the background as Las Vegas police investigate early Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, after a deadly shooting at the venue in Las Vegas. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

(26 of ) Las Vegas police and emergency vehicles sit on scene following a deadly shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip early Monday, Oct. 2, 2017. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

(27 of ) People walk near the Las Vegas Strip shortly after sunrise Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. A deadly shooting occurred Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)

(28 of ) A body is covered with a sheet after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

(29 of ) A woman speaks on the phone while walking along the Las Vegas Strip near Mandalay Bay hotel and casino Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. A mass shooting occurred late night Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)

(30 of ) Melissah Burke and her husband Stephen, of Seattle, walk along the Las Vegas Strip near Mandalay Bay hotel and casino Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. The couple, who were attending the music festival last night where a mass shooting occurred, found refuge in a nearby apartment and casino. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)

(31 of ) People load into buses destined to different Strip Casinos following a mass shooting at the Route 91 music festival along the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017. UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center was opened as a place of refuge. (Yasmina Chavez/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

(32 of ) People wait for their ride outside the Thomas & Mack center, which served as a refuge, following a mass shooting at the Route 91 music festival along the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Yasmina Chavez/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

(33 of ) Metro Police conduct a search on people bringing supplies to the people taking refuge inside the Thomas & Mack following a mass shooting at the Route 91 music festival along the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Yasmina Chavez/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

(34 of ) People embrace after arriving at Metro Headquarters to check on loved ones early Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Sunday. (Yasmina Chavez/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

(36 of ) A woman cries while hiding inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at the Route 91 Harvest country festival on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Al Powers/Invsion/AP)

(37 of ) Concertgoers embrace as they wait early Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at the Route 91 Harvest country festival early Sunday. (Al Powers/Invsion/AP)

(38 of ) A young woman checks her phone while hiding inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at the Route 91 Harvest country festival on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Al Powers/Invision/AP)

(39 of ) A concertgoer makes a phone call early Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, while hiding inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a gunman opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest country festival in Las Vegas. (Al Powers/Invision/AP)

(40 of ) Concertgoers check their phones while hiding inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Al Powers/Invision/AP)

(41 of ) People hold hands in prayer while hiding inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Al Powers/Invision/AP)

(42 of ) A woman hides inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Al Powers/Invision/AP)

(43 of ) Women make phone calls while taking shelter inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Al Powers/Invision/AP)

(44 of ) A young woman hides inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a gunman opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Al Powers/Powers Imagery/AP)

(45 of ) People arrive to Thomas & Mack Center via bus after hiding inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at the Route 91 Harvest country festival on early Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Al Powers/Invision/AP)

(46 of ) Debris is strewn through the scene of a mass shooting at a music festival near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(47 of ) A young woman checks her phone while hiding inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Al Powers/Invsion/AP)

(48 of ) Moises Flores raises an American flag outside of the Thomas and Mack Center in the aftermath of a mass shooting at a music festival Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

(49 of ) Flowers are placed near the scene of a mass shooting at a music festival near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino, top left, on the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

(50 of ) Investigators load bodies from the scene of a mass shooting at a music festival near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip on Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

(52 of ) Two women embrace in front of the concert venue where a mass shooting took place on the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

(53 of ) Aria James, with back to camera, and Jenna Kerr, from Ventura, Calif, embrace Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, on the Las Vegas Strip near a concert venue where a mass shooting occurred in Las Vegas. Both attended the concert. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

(54 of ) Reed Broschart, center, hug his girlfriend Aria James on the Las Vegas Strip in the aftermath of a mass shooting at a concert Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. The couple, both of Ventura, Calif., attended the concert. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

(55 of ) Sean Bean, left, of Livermore, Calif., and his girlfriend Katie Kavetski, of San Leandro, Calif., who both attended a concert where a mass shooting occurred, embrace on the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

(56 of ) Two women embrace outside of a family assistance center Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. The makeshift center was set up to help families and others reconnect after the mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(57 of ) Investigators work the scene Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, after a mass shooting at a music festival near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

(58 of ) Sean Bolger is comforted by a friend during a vigil at City Hall in Las Vegas, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017. The vigil was held in honor of the over 50 people killed and hundreds injured in a mass shooting at an outdoor music concert late Sunday. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

(59 of ) Police tape blocks off the home of Stephen Craig Paddock on Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Mesquite, Nev. Paddock killed dozens and injured hundreds on Sunday night when he opened fire at an outdoor country music festival in Las Vegas. Heavily armed police searched Paddock's home Monday. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

(60 of ) A woman reacts during a special service at Guardian Angel Cathedral for the mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(61 of ) Maritza Rodriguez, right, embraces Emily Zamora after a special service at Guardian Angel Cathedral for the mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(62 of ) Students from University of Nevada Las Vegas hold a vigil Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. A gunman on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino hotel rained automatic weapons fire down on the crowd of over 22,000 at an outdoor country music festival Sunday. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

(63 of ) Natalynn Rivis, a student at University of Nevada Las Vegas, right, takes part in a vigil Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. A gunman on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino hotel rained automatic weapons fire down on the crowd of over 22,000 at an outdoor country music festival Sunday. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

(64 of ) University of Nevada Las Vegas students Raymond Lloyd, right, and Karla Rodriguez take part in a vigil Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. A gunman on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino hotel rained automatic weapons fire down on the crowd of over 22,000 at an outdoor country music festival Sunday. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

(65 of ) Students from University of Nevada Las Vegas hold a vigil Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. A gunman on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino hotel rained automatic weapons fire down on the crowd of over 22,000 at an outdoor country music festival Sunday. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

(66 of ) Virginia, right, and Natalie Ramos light candles as students from University of Nevada Las Vegas hold a vigil Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. A gunman on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino hotel rained automatic weapons fire down on the crowd of over 22,000 at an outdoor country music festival Sunday. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

(67 of ) Luminaries for victims of the the Sunday evening shooting tragedy in Las Vegas are lit on the front steps of Greene Memorial United Methodist Church surrounded by those brought together in prayer and solidarity on Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Roanoke, Va. (Heather Rousseau/The Roanoke Times via AP)

(68 of ) Investigators walk through debris on festival grounds across the street from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, in Las Vegas. Authorities said Stephen Craig Paddock broke windows on the casino and began firing with a cache of weapons, killing dozens and injuring hundreds at the festival. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

(69 of ) Healthcare workers from UMC Hospital in Las Vegas, get free food on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017. Hospitals were overflowing with victims of a gunman who fired on a concert from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Bump stocks not sold at Sonoma County gun shops

JULIE JOHNSON

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | October 5, 2017

The device that allowed the Las Vegas gunman to use his rifles like machine guns, firing hundreds of rounds per minute, cannot be found on the shelves of North Coast gun shops, and has now become the focus of a rare bipartisan call for new gun controls.

Years before Stephen Paddock launched an unrelenting 10-minute attack on a crowd at country music festival, local firearms dealers decided they didn’t want to sell so-called “bump stock” attachments.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has said the device does not violate federal laws. Their legal status is murkier in California, which has some of the most stringent restrictions on firearms in the country but does not explicitly ban the aftermarket accessory.

The most common model, made by Texas-based Slide Fire Solutions, has been sold since 2010. Local gun dealers, however, said they have no interest in selling them.

We almost at one point carried bump stocks . . . we just felt they were way too dangerous for people to have.

“We almost at one point carried those (bump stocks) made by Slide Fire,” said Chris Ostrom, whose family operates Pacific Outfitters recreation stores in Mendocino and Humboldt counties. “We just felt they were way too dangerous for people to have.”

The bump stock replaces a rifle’s standard stock, and it uses the weapon’s recoil energy to allow for rapid fire while the trigger is depressed — with the stock “bumping” between the shooter’s shoulder and trigger finger.

Paddock, of Mesquite, Nevada, installed bump stocks on a dozen semiautomatic rifles authorities later found in his hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. From two broken windows, Paddock leveraged the rapid-fire action to kill 59 people and injure another 489 in just 10 minutes, authorities said.

The massacre has renewed bipartisan calls to ban the device, legislation that the National Rifle Association on Thursday signaled it could support. Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein proposed legislation this week to ban bump stocks and other devices created to accelerate a gun’s rate of fire.

Automatic weapons have been illegal for more than three decades. But bump stocks alter the firing mechanism of semi-automatic weapons, which are legal, enabling shooters to fire at rates between 400 and 800 rounds per minute, according to Feinstein’s office.

“The only reason to fire so many rounds so fast is to kill large numbers of people,” Feinstein said in a statement announcing the proposed bill. “No one should be able to easily and cheaply modify legal weapons into what are essentially machine guns.”

The only reason to fire so many rounds so fast is to kill large numbers of people . . no one should be able to easily and cheaply modify legal weapons into what are essentially machine guns.

While not explicitly banned by California law, local retailers said they opted against carrying bump stocks long before Sunday’s massacre in Las Vegas. The reasons include an aversion to aftermarket tools that haven’t been certified and tested by manufacturers with the same rigor as factory model products.

Retailers also said they didn’t want to sell a product that makes a weapon harder to aim and potentially more destructive.

“Our dealership doesn’t sell them nor do we recommend them to our customers,” said Brian Thomson, manager and director of training with Rinkor Arms in Santa Rosa. “I don’t believe there are any (firearm) instructors out there that would recommend using them.”

Rinkor Arms counts most Sonoma County law enforcement agencies as its clients and about 40 percent of the company’s business is law enforcement. Its training program is run by former law enforcement and military officers.

Thomson said the company is careful to recommend safe, vetted firearms and accessories and won’t recommend products questionable under California law.

“Modifications are limitless. They can turn a legal product into an illegal one or a safe product into an unsafe one,” Thomson said.

Don Schmidt, who runs Schmidt Firearms in Santa Rosa, said he doesn’t know if bump stocks are legal in California but he wouldn’t sell them even if they were.

“When I saw one a couple years ago I said, ‘No way,’ ” Schmidt said. “Because I know what they’ll do.”

Widely available online and in other states, bump stocks on Thursday were selling for as much as $1,680 on gunbroker.com. Slide Fire has “temporarily suspended taking new orders in order to provide the best service with those already placed,” according to the company’s website.

Private firearms instructor Tom Freyslaben said fully automatic weapons may be appropriate in a military scenario but he cannot see the value of rapid- fire functionality for civilians, even as sport. It would be an expensive hobby — he estimated it costs $7 for three seconds worth of ammunition.

Freyslaben runs a marksmanship training program out of his Santa Rosa house, teaching mostly women the ins and outs of handguns and shotguns. They start without ammunition and then advance to a shooting range in Ukiah.

“Just because you’re allowed to buy one doesn’t mean you know what the hell to do with it — I’m not in favor of them,” Freyslaben said. “Shooting guns accurately is not simple. And that device doesn’t allow you to shoot accurately.”

Still, Freyslaben is not convinced further restrictions on firearms is the answer, because he says humans will always invent workarounds. Case in point: The bump stock.

“If the human wants to do it, he will,” Freyslaben said. “You want to ban this thing, the gun people are going to laugh and say, ‘Go ahead, if that’s what silences the current roar.’ ”

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com.